On the break of dawn, chaos erupted at the Marine base in Loguetown.
Standing before the now-empty prison cell where Gol D. Roger had been held, Major Dalle was utterly stunned.
A few seconds later, his expression twisted into rage as he turned and roared, "Who was on patrol last night?! Are you all blind?! A high-profile prisoner escaped and no one even noticed?!"
The Marines who had been on duty the previous night all lowered their heads in shame, too afraid to speak.
One nervous recruit couldn't hold back and blurted out, "Major, something strange happened last night. Because the prisoner was so important—and he had an accomplice—we increased patrols significantly. By all logic, there shouldn't have been a gap. But it was like the prisoner could see exactly where we were. He slipped through the cracks in the patrol shifts and escaped. I suspect he might be a pirate—and a very skilled one at that!"
"You're saying he used Haki? That he could sense our movements?" the major asked, twitching at the corner of his eye.
"Yes, yes! That's it Haki! Aren't there a bunch of pirates in the Grand Line who can use it?!" the recruit said eagerly, as if he'd had a revelation.
Dalle sprayed him with spit. "Haki my ass! If he were a Grand Line pirate who mastered Haki, his bounty would be in the tens of millions at least! You think we could've captured someone like that?! You moron!"
Then, waving his arm furiously, he barked, "Enough nonsense! Everyone assemble! Lock down all of Loguetown! I don't care how just don't let him get away!"
"Yes, sir!!!" the Marines responded in unison.
At that moment, another Marine ran in, drenched in sweat and panicked. He pointed behind him, out of breath.
"Ma-Major!!!"
"What is it now?" Dalle frowned. He couldn't stand flustered subordinates it just screamed incompetence.
"We've found the fugitives! Both the escapee and his accomplice!"
"What?!" Dalle's eyes lit up. Excitedly, he turned to the others. "You see that?! That's what I call initiative! Why can some people catch criminals while the rest of you can't even guard a jail cell?! It's about responsibility! You lot are just drones no sense of duty to your uniform or your salary!"
Then, turning to the report bearer with great satisfaction, he asked, "Speak where are they?!"
The Marine hesitated under Dalle's expectant gaze. Awkwardly, he muttered, "They were hiding on one of our patrol boats. This morning, when we boarded to start our rounds, the moment we set sail, they burst out of the cabin, beat us up, and… well… they took the ship and escaped."
"…"
The major froze.
Around him, his subordinates' faces flushed red as they struggled to hold back laughter. He nearly passed out from sheer frustration.
"The hell are you all standing around for?!" he shouted in fury, kicking the poor messenger clean out the door. "They've escaped to sea! What part of that don't you get?! Go after them—NOW! Or do you need me to hold your hands?!"
"Yes, sir!!" The Marines scrambled out in a rush.
---
Out on the open sea, a sleek double-masted schooner cut through the waves, its bow lifted proudly as it sped ahead, white foam churning in its wake.
At the stern, Roger gripped the helm, grinning ear to ear as he roared into the wind, "World! I, Gol D. Roger, have arrived! Hahahaha!!"
Near the gunwale, Du Hang took a drag from his pipe, then exhaled slowly. Staring out at the endless expanse of ocean, even he felt unusually lighthearted. "And I, Du Hang, have arrived too."
Roger glanced over, surprised. "So you can shout like that. Here I thought you only smiled and schemed."
"Scheme?" Du Hang shook his head. "Old man Zhang downstairs from me used to say I'm slow in the head. With my brains, I'd be lucky not to get out-schemed."
"Heh." Roger chuckled but didn't push it further.
Du Hang had gotten him tossed into a Marine jail, but Roger didn't really hold it against him. Du Hang wasn't a bad guy, and so far, sailing with him had been surprisingly fun.
"Hey, Du Hang," Roger suddenly called out with a grin.
"What?"
"Now that we're real pirates, we need a crew name—and a flag! What do you think we should call ourselves?"
Du Hang raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Roger to ask him that. In the original timeline, the name was just "Roger Pirates"—simple, clear, easy to remember. A little narcissistic maybe, but it fit the vibe.
He waved a hand casually. "You name it. I don't really care."
Roger kept one hand on the wheel and rubbed his chin. Then he shouted, "Well, I'm obviously the captain! So my name has to be in the title! You're sailing with me, so you're the first mate! Let's call it the Roger-Du Pirates! How's that?!"
"Huh?!" Du Hang was genuinely stunned. His pipe nearly dropped from his mouth. He stared at Roger, shocked—Roger actually included him in the name? Even in the original story, it wasn't the "Roger-Rayleigh Pirates" or anything like that.
With a helpless smile, he waved again. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm not really into putting my name out there like that. Let's just keep it simple—Roger Pirates."
But Roger shook his head. "No way! We set sail together—our name should reflect that! Although… hmm… you're Du Hang, right? So 'Roger' is my first name and 'Du' is your last name… that's kind of weird together. Doesn't flow. I got it! Let's call ourselves the Ro-Hang Pirates! That's perfect! Hahaha!!"
Watching Roger get increasingly fired up, Du Hang jumped down from the railing and crossed his arms into an "X." "I refuse! That name is terrible! We're going with Roger Pirates. Final decision!"
It wasn't that Du Hang was trying to be difficult, or worried about historical impact—he simply thought Ro-Hang Pirates sounded way too dumb.
"Aww, come on…" Roger looked disappointed, but when he saw how serious Du Hang was, he eventually dropped it with a grin.
As Roger happily whistled and guided the ship forward, Du Hang couldn't help but laugh. Who would've thought that setting sail with Roger—almost on a whim—would nearly rewrite history? The thought made him strangely reflective.
Just then, the voice of the AI rang in his mind.
[Marine fleet detected in pursuit. Host is advised to prepare accordingly.]
Du Hang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Not bad. They're fast. Looks like things are about to get interesting."
Taking the pipe from his mouth, he turned toward the waves behind them, a smirk playing on his lips.